Lotte Giants right-hander Na Kyun-an showed off a perfect pitch in his first appearance in the regular league, leading the team to win the season. He made the choice of the coaching staff, who made him the second starter in the opening series, a divine move.
Lotte won 2-0 in the second game of the season against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 2nd. I washed away the regret of losing the opening match 10-12 the previous day and ended the 11th inning and tasted the joy of the first win of the 2023 season.
The number one contributor to Lotte’s victory on this day was undoubtedly starting pitcher Na Kyun-an. Na Kyun-an overpowered Doosan’s lineup with 6⅔innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, no runs, and perfect pitches.
He shook the timing of Doosan batters by throwing a mix of fastballs with a maximum speed of 148 km, splitters, curves, cut fastballs, and sliders, which were his main weapons. He also showed confidence in his pitch by throwing 47 fastballs, nearly half of 100 pitches.
Immediately after his victory, Lotte coach Larry Sutton praised Na Kyun-ahn, saying, “Na Gyun-ahn showed the best pitching of his professional career and became the hero of the team today.”
Na Kyun-an’s appearance in the opening series seemed somewhat out of the ordinary. Local ace Park Se-woong was in a situation where he needed to adjust his condition due to participating in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but there was also an alternative called Charlie Barnes. Lotte’s starting rotation for the opening two games looked promising for Dan Straley-Barnes to sortie.
However, Lotte pitching coach Bae Young-soo had confidence in Na Kyun-ahn. Some people questioned the choice of Na Kyun-an as the opening 2 starter for Coach Bae, but Coach Bae showed perseverance. It gave Na Gyun-ahn the motivation to prove himself qualified for the second selection.
Na Kyun-an said, “Coach Young-soo Bae said that he had heard a lot of questions around him why Na Kyun-an was the second starter for the opening game. So I think I threw with more concentration.”
He also expressed his aspirations, saying,메이저사이트 “This year’s goal is to play a full-time season unconditionally. He wants to be a full-time starter rather than throwing a few innings.”
On this day, he also conveyed his impressions of pitching in front of 23,750 fans who filled Jamsil Baseball Stadium. He explained that when he came down the mound in the bottom of the 7th inning, the fans’ cheers at him were a big boost.
Na Kyun-an said, “Senior Jun-woo Jeon told me to greet the fans when I entered the dugout, so I took off my hat and bowed my head.” “A lot of goosebumps always happen in Jamsil. When I hear the cheers from the fans, I get goosebumps and my head stands up. same,” he laughed.